Very high total hardness (calcium?)

[Docmary]

First time posting, hope I am doing this right.
According to my test kit and test strips I have very high Total Hardness / Calcium level; as well as high TA.
I live in Anthem, Arizona, which has hard water (tap water levels usually 400 ppm).
I am a first time pool owner – had pool service for 2 years. I recently started maintaining my own pool (info in signature - I hope).
I am not sure if the high levels are typical for my pool water and were that high while having a pool service???

Using a Pool Master basic 5 Test Kit (from Amazon – exactly like Home Depot’s HDX Basic Kit), which tests Chlorine, pH, Alkalinity and Acid Demand.
I also checked using Aquachek 7 Test Strips which tests FC, TC, pH, TA and CYA
One test asked to add one drop of solution #4 and 2 drops of solution #5 (turns purple); then continue to add (and count) drops of solution #3 until color is pale yellow or clear; then multiply # of drops by 10. It took 21 drops (210).

I got the following results from the two tests:
Pool Master

• Combined Chlorine 2.0
• Free Chlorine 2.0
• pH 7.6
• Total Alkalinity 210
• Acid Demand 7.4

Aquachek 7 Test Strips

• Free Chlorine 3
• Total Chlorine 3
• pH 7.4
• Total Alkalinity 180
• Cyanuric Acid 150
• Total Hardness 1000

Attached are the results for Pool Math (1st time using it, so not sure if I properly input info.)

Even with the pool service, I keep my pool walls and woks water fall clean. I clean filter cartridges at least once a month. Pool is not used much. I do not have any visible calcium built-up at the water level, fixtures or equipment, but I worry what’s going on inside the pipes.

I have a chlorinator and use 3” tri pucks.
I do shock about once a week during the above 100 degrees season. I understand shocking the pool water adds calcium, as the active ingredient pool shock is calcium hypochlorite, once used up, leaving the calcium in the pool water. Is there an alternative? Wondering if I should switch to liquid chlorine.

Also wondering if using a flocculant would help? But I don’t have a vacuum because I have a Paramount 6-cell in floor cleaning system.

Oh, evaporation rate is very high in AZ, with my small pool (8k gals), I assume my pool is regularly topped off (my high water bill supports this LOL). Water is very expensive in Anthem, AZ.

Any suggestions other than emptying my pool water or reverse osmosis will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Hi there Mary, welcome to TFP, the largest and best pool forum on the 'nets.

You are not alone in this problem by a long shot. Many folks from your area of the country deal with these problems in the pools. The first step to handling your water is to get a *reliable* test kit. We use drop based kits which are accurate, reproducible and contain all the tests we need for day to day care.

The two kits we endorse are the TF-100 which was put together with our method in mind, so that kit contains the right amount of reagents for the tests you do most often. The other kit is the K-2006C (that C is important as it most matches the TF-100 for comparison). Both are available from tftestkits.net or Amazon. I myself prefer the TF-100. "Guess-Strips" aren't worth the money you paid for them. Worthless!

We need to know:
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

With hard water folks tend to keep their pH on the low end (like 7.2) to help avoid/fight scale building up.

With your high CYA, probably years of puck use, you either drain and refill or do the RO. I'd warn you that this time of year is a bad time for draining and refilling unless you do it by the two hose method- one hose draining from near the surface, the other refilling at the same time near the floor. Depending on how cold the new water is we adjust which hose goes where.

Reverse Osmosis is a good idea, but costly. They won't do it if the pool is algae filled though.

Do NOT use floc, clarifiers or any other product other than plain, unscented, nonthickened generic bleach. No clorox products. Your use of pucks is why your CYA is so high. Routine "shocking" (which we do NOT do) is just adding more calcium. Have you considered a salt water chlorine generator? Great way to chlorinate a pool and super simple to run. NO pucks!! (ok, some pucks as long as you're aware of the problems with their use and can accommodate the extra CYA in your water?)

Maddie

 

[Docmary]

Thank you Maddie. You offered some great suggestions. Thanks for your time.

I will continue using my 'unreliable' drop method test kit until the TF-100 (and stirrer) arrive. Will post results after it arrives.

In the meantime, is my pool safe to use with the results that I posted (one from drop method / other backup test with strips)?

I have a friend coming over tomorrow for a pool day (need to keep this friend). Probably wouldn't bother asking if it was my boss.

Thanks again for your time and suggestions.

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!

IF your CYA is 150 (guess strip) and if your FC is 2, no, the pool is not safe to use. We state that the FC must be above minimum for your CYA. That would be 7.5% of your CYA. So a FC of 12 ppm.

Also, the CC of 2 would make the pool quite uncomfortable irritating skin, eyes, and nose.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Well, to cover all bases I'd recommend pouring one quart of plain, unscented, unthickened, non-splashless generic brand bleach in and let the pump mix it up. This way you'll know you're all safe to go for tomorrow at least....? You're going to be fighting high CYA which requires higher FC to compensate.'

Maddie

One of your tests says CC of 2, the other just says FC 3.....if you were to put a gallon of bleach in there you would not be remiss. One gallon (actually a short gal-121 oz) of 6% bleach raises your FC by 7. Perfectly safe to swim in at that level. And we're assuming no CCs.